Federation of Student Organisations, Tamil Nadu (FSO-TN), comprising mainly of students wings of the DMK and its allies, announced a black flag protest against the Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar, who will be visiting Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras on Friday, February 28, to inaugurate IInvenTiv 2025, a research and development fair.

The protest has been organised to condemn the union government for withholding educational funds for the state. DMK student wing secretary and Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) CVMP Ezhilarasan would lead the demonstration, according to sources, stated a report by The New Indian Express.

Originally, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was scheduled to inaugurate the event. However, a revised invite sent by the institution on Thursday said Majumdar would be attending instead. A statement released by the FSO-TN on Thursday said that cancellation of Pradhan’s attendance was a victory for the protests of students in the state. Earlier, the union minister had kicked up a controversy by stating that the centre will release the Samagra Shiksha funds to TN only after the state accepts the National Education Policy and the three-language formula.

FSO-TN held agitations at 68 places across the state, with Chief Minister MK Stalin even drawing parallels with the students’ protest against Hindi imposition in 1938 before the Hindu Theological School in Sowcarpet, Chennai, according to a report by The New Indian Express.